Plain English Breakdown
The official summary states that changes regarding AB-1392 and SB-3 are conditional on those bills being enacted last, creating uncertainty if they do not pass or are enacted first.
AB-827: Changes to Mail-in Ballot Signature Verification Deadlines
This law changes the time limits for elections officials and voters to fix missing or mismatched signatures on mail-in ballots, extending deadlines after statewide elections while keeping existing rules for other elections.
What This Bill Does
- Extends the deadline for election officials to notify voters about signature issues in regularly scheduled statewide elections from before certification to within 14 calendar days after the election.
- Allows voters up to 22 calendar days after a regularly scheduled statewide election to verify their signatures if they receive a notice of an issue.
- Keeps existing deadlines for non-statewide elections, requiring officials to notify voters by 8 days before certification and giving voters until 5 p.m. two days before certification to respond.
- Permits voters to drop off signature verification forms at mail-in ballot drop boxes instead of mailing them or delivering them in person.
- Requires election officials to update a voter's registration record with their new signature if they submit an unsigned form late but the signatures match, for use in future elections.
- Allows official canvassing hours to be reduced below six per day if only ballots needing signature verification remain and certification deadlines can still be met.
Who It Names or Affects
- Election officials who process mail-in ballots
- Voters who cast votes by mail
Terms To Know
- Signature verification
- The process of comparing the signature on a ballot envelope to the one in voter records.
- Certification
- The official step where election results are finalized and declared valid.
Limits and Unknowns
- This law only changes deadlines for regularly scheduled statewide elections; other elections follow different time limits.
- Changes related to AB-1392 and SB-3 will only take effect if those bills are also passed and this bill is enacted last.